Crews fight large brush fire in Elkhart

March 18, 2009|WSBT-TV Report

ELKHART Â? Firefighters were on the scene of a large brush fire on the north side of Elkhart Wednesday afternoon. It started near Tara Lane in Osolo Township and quickly spread across several acres into the city limits.

Neighbors say they saw flames shooting as high as 15 feet. Some of them came very close to homes.

"Well, I was obviously concerned,Â? said neighbor Greg Swanson. Â?I thought we might lose our fence for starters, so I had my hose out there trying to keep it from getting that close.Â?

"When spring comes people are going to try and clean up their yards and sometimes these things get away,Â? said Division Chief Randy Stone of the Osolo Township Fire Department. Â?I can't say for sure that's what happened here, but a lot of times people start off burning off their brush and things get out of hand."

Firefighters say the flames didn't damage any homes, and no one was hurt.